Mesoporous titania accommodated with In2O3 nanoparticles as a superior photocatalyst for degradation ciprofloxacin antibiotic

Antibiotics are emanating pollutants due to their wide consumption and production, which causes hazards to human health and the ecological environment. Herein, the sol-gel process was utilized for synthesizing novel mesoporous In2O3/TiO2 photocatalysts employing a soft template. The photocatalytic ability of the In2O3/TiO2 nanocomposites was assessed through ciprofloxacin (CIP) degradation over visible light exposure. It could be found that 1.5% In2O3/TiO2 nanocomposite exhibited the highest CIP degradation rate compared with bare TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs). The 1.5% In2O3/TiO2 nanocomposites indicated strengthening the photocatalytic performance ∼100% within 120 min to degrade CIP compared with the bare TiO2 NPs (10%) because of the construction of heterojunctions, which could be reinforced the separation efficiency of photoinduced electrons-holes. The apparent rate constant of 1.5% In2O3/TiO2 photocatalyst was determined to be about 0.013 min−1, 13 folds larger than bare TiO2 NPs (0.001 min−1). The photocatalytic ability was kept after recycling five times without depletion. The fostered photocatalytic ability was referred to as the transport of photoinduced electrons-holes between In2O3 and TiO2, verified by photocurrent response and photoluminescence measurement. The photocatalytic reactions of the In2O3/TiO2 photocatalyst were proposed according to the S-scheme mechanism. This work provides a favourable way to construct heterojunction photocatalysts for practical application in the destruction of organic contaminants.